For Gabriel Melo, it was 30-love at first sight.
The first time the 15-year-old native of Puerto Rico picked up a tennis racket, “I knew it was my sport,” he said.
“He dropped everything else,” said his mother, Gladys. “He said, ‘Mom … this is what I want to do.”
Some eight years later, Melo is doing it for Waldwick (2-2). Warriors Coach Ted Opderbeck said his standout freshman’s teammates have been “hovering around the first-singles court to watch him play.”
Melo’s road to that court started at the age of 7 when a friend in his hometown of Caguas, Puerto Rico – about 30 minutes outside the capital city of San Juan – invited him to take a lesson at the local community center.
In no time, Melo dropped his former athletic interests – fencing and tae kwon do – and spent his free time on the tennis courts.
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